waiting
by GlimerOfhope
Summary: silentshipping mixed with sedateshipping. Read to find out. My first story dedicated to NoirceauTheCat.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own yugioh

WAITING

this is an sxs story, enjoy!

The 18 years old serenity wheeler walked through the halls of the college she attended heading to her English class. She took one of the front seats, a habit she kept even after graduating from high school with flying colours.

After fully recovering her eyesight five years ago, she launched herself in studying hard to ensure a somehow decent future; nothing is granted in life, that was one of the first lessons she learnt. She was the offspring of quite a poor family that has to struggle to make the two ends meet. Let alone the fact that her own was disintegrated, divorced parents and a brother that she lost sight of for so many years before meeting him again.

She indeed came across some important people with quite an extravagant life style, her thought wandered to that blimp where Battle City finals were held, she met her brother's friends and acquaintances there, some of them were incredibly rich occupying very high positions though they were just teens back then.

She was taken from her reverie by the sound of approaching footsteps, she darted her eyes upwards to meet a somehow familiar face. She kept silent and waited for the person to speak.

" aren't you joey wheeler sister?"

She nodded without succeeding in recognizing the owner of the voice. The other person seemed to take the hint because he proceeded in introducing himself: "you don't seem to recognize me but we met at the battle city tournament, I duelled against your brother" he marked a pause before saying "Marik Ishtar"

Violet eyes, dirty white hair with tanned skin, he was indeed very familiar, the guy almost killed her brother in that stupid duel five years ago. But what is he doing here, wasn't he supposed to live in Egypt. Then she remembered her brother saying something about the Ishtar family moving to Domino to start all over again. Well, that was something unexpected, she didn't have a high opinion of the guy, the reason was obvious, but he did apologize and sounded sincere. She smiled and inquired politely "how have you been?"

"Fine, so we are in the same class". The look she gave him made him elaborate his statement with some kind of embarrassment:

"Yeah, I know but I never was the good student type. I failed many classes, you, however didn't waste you time"

She gratified his compliment with a smile, the blush however came alone. She had indeed a story with blushes.

Their conversation was cut by the entrance of the professor who proceeded with his lecture.

Joey wheeler waited patiently for his sister to come out of college, he didn't change much although he was 22 now. His dirty blond hair went in different directions, he was tall with a quick temper but his heart was certainly one of the biggest. He is still the same overprotective brother who would always watch over his little sister. His task was difficult because Serenity was one kind of a pretty girl: silky auburn hair, beautiful hazel eyes, and creamy peach skin. But Serenity was the type to be trusted; she was either busy with studying or at her part-time job in a fancy restaurant, so technically she didn't have much time for herself.

"Joey, what you are doing here?you didn't tell me you were coming"

"Right sis, but I got some news; we are going with the gang to the museum!"

"Really?"

" Ishizu invited us for a special exhibition and she wanted some help too, so she asked to ask you if you can come and take care of the visitors. You will be paid, sis"

"What I am supposed to do?"

"Oh, you know just explaining some historic facts and something like that. She will show you"

"I met her brother today; it seems that we are in the same class"

You could tell that joey wasn't pleased at all as he picked his favourite quote for his favourite sister "stay away from him sis, he's no good". Of course thought Serenity, what else can he say?

"Alright then, see you later"

"Hey wait, I came specially to pick you up" Joey voice was lost in the immense chatter as his sister made her way hurriedly out of his sight.

Serenity walked her way alone through the crowded streets of Domino, she just felt like it. When Joey greeted her in front of the college's gates and informed her that he will meet the gang so they can head to the museum together, she literally ran off. The perspective of seeing Duke and Tristan antics wasn't appealing at all, not that they would try anything funny especially with her brother around but she yearned for some peace and quite frankly she wasn't ready for any of these stuffs.

As kaiba stepped into the museum, he couldn't help but notice the girl that was attending to the guests, he knew her of course, the sister of that third-rate duellist of wheeler. He presumed that Ishizu offered her the job. Speaking of that woman, wouldn't she ever stop bothering him with her ancient stuffs?

Anyway, he was here for business, each occasion that can enhance the image of his company was welcomed. In that moment, he was greeted by Ishizu who lost no time in showing him her most recent discoveries.

In an other corner of the room, Serenity was doing fine in her assignment and out of expectance found herself enjoying it. The truth is she always has had something for ancient civilizations. She found them amazing.

She did noted kaiba presence. There he was, the seto kaiba, most wanted bachelor in Japan, say the world. Every girl dreamt to be with him but serenity. She wanted – for a reason she cannot really name- to stay away from him. He was so mean notably with her own brother.

"Is this for sale" a voice startled her from behind. The owner of the voice was a male, quite tall with green eyes long pink hair. Did I forget to tell that he was all creepy too?

"Let me introduce myself" he paused for effect "Siegfried Von Schraider, ceo of Schraider company"

"everything here is just for exhibition "

"are you too?"

"excuse me sir, but I really have work to do". With that, she left no wanting to exchange any further words with that man who was clearly no interested the least in what she would say.

It was midnight when Ishizu decided to call it a day and closed the now empty museum to the visitors. Serenity waited patiently for a cab when a white limo stopped by and a newly familiar voice asked "do you need a ride?"

"Well you know as you wouldn't tell me your name, I looked for it. Serenity wheeler, you wouldn't happen to be the sister of joey wheeler"

At the mention of the name of her cherished brother, she let her guard down a little bit. Being aware of that, Siegfried Continued "I met your brother at kaiba grand prix, we even duelled so get in. knowing him, he wouldn't like for his sister to stay alone in the street at such a late hour".

'What could go wrong, he seems to know my brother fairly well. Besides it's so late and have to wake up early" serenity thought. She was about to climb into the limo when she was snatched by a strong hand that sent her backwards.

Recovering from her initial shock, she turned around to face none else but seto kaiba who seems by the way not pleased at all.

"You're not getting in this car!"

Feeling anger boiling in her plus the fatigue that she accumulated through the day, she snapped: " is that true, well it's none of your business. Now let go!"

"I see, you are just as naïve as you were a few years ago in battle city. It's not because some guy told you that he knows your brother that you should trust him with your life" he retorted.

"You heard kaiba. Leave her" Siegfried intervened.

"I see that you didn't learn your lesson, I suggest that you get out of my face or I will have to refresh your memory"

Siegfried backed off; he didn't want any scene that could jeopardize his already shaken company prestige, so he left with a last "this is not the end, kaiba".

The ride in the limo was silent, serenity seated herself as far as she could. She was trying hard to suppress tears that were threatening to spill at any moment now. She was humiliated and forced to accept a ride home from seto kaiba. But no, she will not cry; not in front him. She will not give him that pleasure. Mean as he is, he could say that that habit of her didn't change either. What's wrong with him anyways? she would have sworn that he wouldn't recognize her or give a damn for her. After all, she was the 'mutt' sister!

When they arrived in front of the apartment block, she hurried up out of the limo without a word or even a glance.

Please, don't forget to drop a review.


	2. Chapter 2

WAITING

Disclaimer: I don't own YUGIOH

Thank you my only reviewer, I really appreciate your comment. I hope there is an improvement, otherwise tell me and I will try really harder.

All her life she waited. As a little girl, she waited for her brother to come and save her. Now that she was eighteen, she longed for something special. She knew perfectly well that she wasn't the only waiting person in the world. People of all ages waited for something, a loved one, a promotion, relief, salvation and so many things. But regardless of the nature of that thing, it was supposed to bring happiness and joy into their lives. She has always lived with the conviction that she was a weak person and hence has always to rely on someone's support and protection. At the beginning, it didn't bother her. She felt sort of unique and the fondness that both Tristan and Duke showed for her nourished that feeling. There were also sweet people like Yugi and Ryou, always ready to help and most of all, her brother who was ready to bring the moon to her feet. However, and as years flew by, she realized that being a princess in distress was no longer an option. Strong people were leading whereas weak ones remained in the shadow. Also being a girl is not seen as an alibi anymore, her closest friends Tea and Mai are assertive and independent. God, how she envied Mai for her strength and Tea for her strong character and wished she could have just a little of those.

After that episode with kaiba, she felt even weaker than before. What was she supposed to do now? Quite frankly, she had no idea. She had called Ishizu earlier and excused herself from her duties. The woman was considerate enough and didn't bother her with questions. She was aware of her cowardice but she blame it on her low personal self-esteem which was due – in her opinion- to the pitying glances and remarks she got when she almost went blind. Anyways, as long as she was busy with her studies and her work, she was fine. What was the point of killing yourself thinking about solving a problem that she thought was so insolvable?

That was the fuzzy ramble of thought that deprived Serenity from sleep a large part of the night. When she came home last night, she took refuge instantly in her room avoiding any direct contact with her brother. She was certain that if their eyes were to meet at that moment, she would have broken in hysterical sobs mumbling some incoherent phrases about the cruelty of people and their lack of heart.

After setting the table, she went to awake the heavy sleeper that was her brother. Joey was definitely not an early bird but she was afraid that he might loose his job at Industrial Illusion. Kaiba had commented on the event saying that this was certainly the joke of the year and foresaw the upcoming demise of the company. Pegasus, on the other hand, saw it as a humble payback, after all, Yugi and Co deserved to be shown some gratitude.

"Come on Joey, wake up!" pleaded serenity repeatedly.

As nothing happened, serenity decided to play the Mai card "hey Mai, what are you doing here?"

"Mai! No… wait! I was just pretending…ahhhhh" with a heavy sound, Joey collapsed into the floor in a somehow awkward position. Serenity burst laughing at her brother who retaliated by throwing a pillow at her.

"You keep tricking me sis, you should really think of something new!"

"And you keep falling for it again and again. Besides, I don't need something new, it always works"

Their laughter was interrupted by the ringing of serenity cell phone. The displayed number was unknown to her but she answered it anyways:

"Hello, Serenity speaking"

"It's Marik Ishtar, how are you?" a male voice answered.

"Hmm, hold on a second"

"Who is this?" asked Joey after adjusting himself.

"I'll tell you later", then she left his room for her own.

After closing the door carefully, she brought the phone back to her ear and inquired "where did you get this number from?"

"From your application form, I hope that you don't mind! Anyways, I was wondering why you quitted"

Feeling anger and confusion coursed through her body, she replied angrily: "what do you want from me?"

"I will meet you in the cafeteria near the bus station, 2 o'clock".

"What do you want from me?" she repeated furiously.

"We'll talk when we'll see each other? I'll be waiting for you"

"Don't even bother, I'm not coming and that's final!"

"Fine, let's make it for tomorrow, same place, same hour".

Serenity sighed heavily: "Don't you understand, I'm not coming today or tomorrow or even the day after tomorrow"

"And I shall be expecting you to show up tomorrow and the day after tomorrow and the day after and the day after…"was Marik response.

That's it; serenity couldn't suppress a short laugh and closed her cell phone shut quickly. He was funny in his own way but she did not know him. According to his sister, he was a nice person that just happened to suffer a lot. She made her mind up though, she will not go; she didn't want to disappoint her brother who clearly stated that he didn't want her to associate with him.

No, he did so much for her and she won't deceive him. Now to the difficult task of explaining this call to a very suspicious and overprotective Joey.

* * *

Marik waited patiently in the cafeteria. He was 100 sure that Serenity is not going to set foot here today. But he waited anyways. When they left Egypt, it was partly because of him. He couldn't stand living there anymore; he needed to escape, at least for a while. Then he saw her, Joey little sister. That girl was certainly something. She was so innocent, a luxury that was rare those days; so, and to his sister's joy and surprise, he started attending the same college. It took him months and several rehearsals to approach her and exchange just those few words with her.

But today ,and he congratulated himself, he took some actions. Well, he was forced to if he wanted to have any chance with her. What he witnessed yesterday outside the museum was quite an incentive; 'Kaiba at the rescue of his enemy's sister!!'.

Marik himself was going to prove himself and get rid of that pink-haired guy when Kaiba beat him up. That was suspicious but we will see, he thought seriously.

Read and review!


	3. Chapter 3

WAITING

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh

* * *

Believe me, Marik is a nice guy. The bad one is Siegfried; I will get rid of him as soon as I can. Thanks to the people who reviewed. It means a lot to me. As for the Egyptian stuff, quite frankly I don't feel ready but who knows?

* * *

There is an Arabic saying that goes: « whoever is strangled by the voice of the past, cannot speak to the future". Siegfried Von Schraider fitted perfectly well in this category. Despite all the riches he possessed, he was consumed by jealousy and rage.

Was he doomed to constantly loose to Seto Kaiba? Failure was indeed an impoverishing experience, in every sense of the word.

He was literally sucked in the vortex of his hate, and vengeance was his sole salvation. But how? How can he wipe off that smirk of his face?

Siegfried tossed the magazine featuring his nemesis away, and began pacing relentlessly back and forth in his luxurious hotel room. He has to do something or he will explode for sure. He thought about abducting Mokuba, but that was becoming cliché. Besides, the boy was no longer a kid. Then, wait a second! Since when Kaiba was preoccupied about the safety of other people beside himself and his precious little brother? The girl at the museum! His face was distorted by a smug smile as he thought darkly 'yes, I will definitely win this round'.

* * *

In another part of Domino, and unaware of the evil plot that was about to unfold, Serenity was nervously twiddling her thumbs. 

'What did she do to deserve that?' she thought helplessly. For the sixth time this week, Marik has called. This cannot go on; someone has to put an end to this masquerade. Joey? No, he will blow a fuse and may try to kill the guy. She didn't want that.

Yugi? Shame on you Serenity! Was he accountable for the all world population misery? Let's give the poor guy a break.

Tristan and Duke? No way! She has recently come to the conclusion that those two were completely irrational.

Well, she will act like a big girl and face her own problems and even save the world. YES! She will talk to him.

She faced the mirror and studied her options:

1-"Listen Marik, it's just one word and I'm not adding another; leave me or I swear that…"

Running out from threats, she tried a different line:

2-"Marik, please, that's not right- insert puppy dog eyes- you cannot do that to me, I've always…"

Or maybe she could play it casual and cheerful:

3-"Hi Marik, I finally decided to show up. What's up?"

But that was just pathetic! She will let him do the talking.

The funny thing was that she was enjoying his company and almost felt comfortable with him. When she entered the cafeteria earlier, he had stood up with a charming smile and pulled out a chair for her. From that, they started a conversation mainly about the old good time, and now they were taking a walk at his suggestion.

They were discussing deserts and pyramids when he asked her if she could come with him to retrieve a very old Egyptian necklace from an antique shop, to which she agreed.

The shop was located at a rather isolated place. And she started to have doubts remembering Kaiba words.

Should she trust him? He might harm her. He might…oh, she was just being paranoid.

Noticing the drastic change in the girl facial expression, Marik cried out indignantly: "Hey, I'm not like that! I wouldn't lay a finger on you!"

The truthful look he gave her made her fears go way; smiling, she led the way:" Fine, let's go".

* * *

He could hear her saying, "Don't move, Marik. Hush, it's going to be alright". 

"Please, stay with him, I'm going to find some help" she told the old man and rushed to the main street.

What happened was a blur, they were about to reach the shop when they got assaulted by four men. They were after Serenity, so he fought them and shielded her with his own body. Even the old owner of the antique shop came to help, beating those guys with his cane. Then, he felt a sharp pain and collapsed. She heard screams, kids…

The sound of screeching wheels didn't weaken her resolve but fuelled it. She slammed her bare hands on the car's hood daring it to move away from her. She will not back off, Marik's life was in danger and it was all her fault.

She didn't notice that detail before, but the black car was incredibly big! Then, it sank; a limo! Doesn't matter, even if it was a plane or a liner, the owner would have to listen to her and help. He has to!

Her frantic mind registered the sound of someone talking. She harshly wiped her eyes off tears and tried to concentrate.

"Are you deaf? get out of my way! My boss has an important meeting he has to attend to"

What's wrong with those people? Are they all stone-hearted? Where is compassion? She was about to say something when a second voice startled her.

"What is it?"

The chauffeur's face paled as he started searching for words to explain the situation to his employer. Luckily for him, Serenity beat him to it:

"Kaiba! Kaiba, please, Marik is bleeding; there is a lot of blood, you have to help him!"

Kaiba didn't move, he just stood there seemingly staring at her.

The shock she just received and the certainty that Marik's life was at stake gave her an incredible amount of boldness. If she had been able to reach for his collar, she would have done that. Instead, she grabbed him by his upper arms and started shaking him not caring a bit about the strains of blood she left on his snow-white business tux.

"He is dying for God's sake! Do something!"

Gaining no response from the stoic CEO, she put her hand on her mouth as new tears formed into her hazel eyes and turned to leave when he spoke:

"Where is he?"

"I'll show you, quick, hurry!"

The limo started rolling and picked up speed. The ride wasn't quite this time. Serenity couldn't suppress her sobs. Marik head was on her lap while the rest of his body lied on the expensive leather back seat.

Kaiba was seated across them, arms crossed and eyes calculating. He didn't utter a word. If the circumstances were not the same and if she was in her right mental state, she would have found that weird. The unique time he addressed her was when Marik nearly blacked out. "He has to remain conscious" he had told her, and she cautiously paid heed to his words.

* * *

It's been a week since the ordeal; Marik was still in hospital in Intensive Care. He was in a bad shape, but doctors seemed somehow optimistic. Despite her brother's protests, she went everyday to see him. Guilt was eating her up, but she had no power to change the past. She got fired from her part-time job; they didn't need depressed people. She even missed classes, something she never pictured herself doing. 

Mai came over in the evening –at Joey request- to try and cheer her up. Murmuring a vague excuse a short while later, Serenity left them for her room.

In the dim light of the starry sky, Serenity stood up in the balcony of their apartment. Hands on the railing, she lifted her head up and stared at the immensity of the dark blue sky. At the time being, she could do nothing but wait.

Well, I think I'm going to take a break. I will update the one-shot 'truthful illusions' as soon as I can, then we we'll see about this one.

I know, this chapter is depressing but I'm not going to kill anyone. Don't worry too much about Marik. Kaiba needs competition anyways.


End file.
